Stephen Colbert 1, Internet 0.
Last week, the hashtag #CancelColbert trended nationwide after the Twitter account @ColbertReport posted an excerpt of a joke told by the show’s host.
Taken out of context, it definitely came across as racist against Asians.
So, what did the comedian have to say for himself last night?
First, he made it clear that he does not run the account from which the Tweet came.
Then, he explained that the Tweet only referenced one part of a much longer bit, one that mocked Redskins owner Daniel Snyder for actually being sort of racist.
"I understood how people were offended," Colbert said. "The same way I, as an Irish-American, was offended after reading only one line of Jonathan Swift’s ‘A Modest Proposal.’ I mean, eat Irish babies?! #CancelSwift!"
Colbert – who actually had Twitter founder Biz Stone on a a guest – proceeded to express shock over the confusion ("Who would’ve thought a means of communication limited to 140 characters would lead to misunderstandings?") and later deleted the account @ColbertReport (via fake explosion).
In closing, he agreed to a compromise with those who pushed for his cancellation.
"The people have called for cancelling Colbert and I am willing to meet them halfway," he said. "Effective immediately, I am shutting down the world-wide foundation of the The Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever…
"The saddest part is, because of all the attention, we raised a lot of money over the weekend. Money that will now be donated to Dan Snyder’s Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation, which Twitter seems to be fine with because I haven’t seen sh-t about that."